Plan to improve green credentials of Welsh dairying

Ambitious plans to improve the environmental performance of the Welsh dairy industry over the next decade have been published.

The Dairy Roadmap for Wales has been created by a range of stakeholders including producers, milk processors and supermarkets, and sets out a number of environmental targets across the supply chain.

For producers, it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming by 20-30% by 2020, use 40% of energy from renewable sources and recycle 70% of non-natural on-farm waste.

The roadmap identifies a number of practical areas (see box) where environmental performance can be improved, “without threatening the economic viability of the industry”.

It has been designed to complement the Milk Roadmap in England, produced in May 2008.

“Having parallel indicators and targets will assist the industry in measuring the achievements, impact and outcomes of the roadmaps, although I will stress that Wales’ targets obviously take into account regional differences,” Delyth Davies, DairyCo head of dairy development Wales said.

“The Dairy Roadmap for Wales is a tool to help us to better understand the environmental, social and economic impact of milk and dairy products, and the various ways in which these impacts can be mitigated.”

Wales’ rural affairs minister Elin Jones welcomed the document.

“The dairy industry has already paved the way in terms of investment in renewable energy, water efficiency, energy reduction and conservation and the roadmap highlights the industry’s determination to keep improving.

“The industry is to be commended on its commitment to improving the business performance of producers and processors in response to changing market conditions, environmental requirements, climate change and consumer demands.”